The authors present a method of producing Cu2CdSnSe4 quaternary nanocrystals using a colloidal synthesis route that could be used for future industrial synthesis. The nanocrystals prepared showed great potential for use as a thermoelectric material due to their high thermoelectric figure of merit (up to 0.71) resulting from a high electrical conductivity and low thermal conductivity. The authors believed that these properties could be further tuned in order to increase ...
The effects of particle size/shape, base fluid, and volumetric concentration on the thermal conductivity of nanofluids has been studied. It was found that decreasing the particle size leads to an increased thermal conductivity, and that using water as a base fluid led to the greatest enhancement of thermal conductivity. The effects of gravity, Brownian motion, and thermophoresis on particle motion were also investigated and it was found that gravity ...
The properties of carbonized lignin nanoparticles were investigated to determine if this material could be used as an environmentally-friendly alternative to carbon black. The observed surface area of the carbonized lignin was found to be higher than that of carbon black because the powder is highly porous. The lignin nanoparticles were able to be produced in such a way as to give a similar size as carbon black nanoparticles, with ...
Three model polymer-bonded explosive compositions were prepared to determine the effects of damage on their mechanical and thermal properties. The composites were damaged in a controllable manner such that three different levels of damage could be produced, and the strain on the samples could be determined. The samples differed in the size of the particles that they contained, and the sample that showed the largest decrease in mechanical properties occurring ...
The authors present the synthesis of hollow silica nanospheres (HSNSs) by a template-assisted approach using polystyrene nanospheres as templates. These nanospheres could potentially be used as nano insulation materials due to their low thermal conductivity ~0.02 W/m K. The authors also examined the environmental footprint of these nanospheres by life cycle assessment, and it was found that they possess a high embodied energy. It was thus suggested that new synthetic ...
